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Power Gig: Rise of the SixString presents an authentic guitar experience to gaming
posted: 3/9/2010 12:05:00 PM
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Power Gig: Rise of the SixString
Developers are not done with the band genre just yet. Seven45 Studios, using their music connection with instrument manufacturers First Act, are preparing to present
Power Gig: Rise of the SixString
to gamers this Fall. A first look will be given at this year's Game Developers Conference.
What's so special about this particular music video game, you say? Seven45 Studios revamped the controller system to allow you to use the actual strings of a guitar, introducing the gameplay mode of chord play. The guitar itself is an actual electric guitar, as well, so you can hook that baby up to an amp and get to real rocking. Take a look at the guitar and character art below.
Music Industry-born Publisher/Developer Seven45 Studios to Evolve Band Game Genre with New Game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 That Uses a Real Six String Guitar as Controller
Boston — March 9, 2010 — The true evolution of the band videogame experience is set to occur this fall when Seven45 Studios unleashes Power Gig: Rise of the SixString for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system. New publisher, developer and hardware manufacturer Seven45 Studios is a sister company to music instrument manufacturing giant First Act, making it uniquely positioned to introduce the first major band game for which the guitar peripheral is a functioning six-string electric guitar. The guitar features Seven45's proprietary technology that can distinguish and recognize gamers' input all along the guitar, making the guitars as easy to pick up and play as any other band game button controllers. They also include all the guts of an electric guitar so players can plug their SixString guitars into any standard amp to jam with their friends.
"Power Gig: Rise of the SixString is meant to be the answer for all of those gamers who have wanted to take their band game experience to the next level; we're confident that players will agree that the transition from the existing games is both seamless and exhilarating," said Seven45 Studios Chairman and CEO, Bernard Chiu. "We believe that there is something unmatchable about the feeling of an authentic guitar in your hands, and Power Gig brings that excitement to all gamers with an instrument that absolutely anyone can pick up and play."
Power Gig: Rise of the SixString will transport players to an entirely new universe, with its own mythology, politics, settings, heroes and villains, where music rules all. On the gameplay front, Power Gig uses new technology that represents the next evolution of music performance games to provide all players — from casual gamers to the hardcore, from those who have never before picked up a guitar to those who play guitar on a regular basis — with a more authentic and fun experience. The game offers two overarching modes of play. In addition to traditional beat-matching that will be familiar to fans of the band game genre, Power Gig also introduces the option to switch on chording, or chord play. Chording presents the added challenge of playing the game using chords that require specific finger placement on the strings. As players progress through the game, becoming more comfortable with a genuine guitar and potentially choosing to play real power chords, they will find that the byproduct of playing the game is coming away from it with an understanding of some real-life guitar fundamentals.
Seven45 Studios' relationship to music instrument manufacturing stalwart First Act means not only that the two share an ownership, but also that Seven45 can leverage deep expertise when it comes to the manufacturing and distribution of quality musical instruments for mass audiences. Seven45 has also put together a veritable dream team of game development talent whose collective experience includes time spent at companies such as Vivendi, LucasArts, Atari, StormFront Studios, Foundation 9, Pandemic, Capcom, Backbone Entertainment, SEGA and many more.
Power Gig: Rise of the SixString will be available for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system fall of 2010. The SixString guitar makes its public debut at the 2010 Game Developers Conference, which begins today at San Francisco's Moscone Center. For more information, please visit http://www.powergig.com.


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For all the nice-guy stuff that Trey Canard has going for him, there's one person he's known to be a little harsh with: himself. He'll admit to being too hard on himself when he has a bad race. And people around him often say they don't have to get Trey fired up or motivated—but sometimes they do have to try to get him to chill out.
But after an injury last season nearly ended his career, Trey has a new appreciation for what he does. Is there a chance, now, that he'll be a little happier with his performance, no matter where he finishes?
"Maybe a little bit," said the Muscle Milk Honda rider to us this morning during track walk. "But you always want to win, we all do. I think you have to have a balance. You have to enjoy it, but you have to want to perform well, and I think putting that pressure on myself is part of the reason I've had success in this sport. But I do think that balance has changed for me a little bit."
Although he logged a strong ride last weekend in his first race in nearly a year, Trey is trying hard not to let that change his outlook yet. "I don't think one race really changes everything. It's not like, "Okay, I'm set, I'm back, I'm going to win this weekend," he said. "Of course I want to win, but I think the thing to do is just put in my best performance, and just be happy with that."
Despite his great ride last weekend, Trey Canard tells us his outlook and expectations haven't changed.
Simon Cudby photo
You'll hear that from everyone at the beginning of the season. Setting expectations too high just creates more pressure, and there's plenty there already at the first few races. So you're not going to hear any riders talk trash and say they're only here to win, and anything less than that is a failure. But there's no doubt that Canard's strong ride last weekend makes him a definite contender tonight, and any doubts about his health are over.
Last week, after finishing second, Canard said, "It's a win for me." But there are new expectations and even Trey can't deny that he's got a real shot at winning tonight. If he does win, he'll be ecstatic. If he finishes second, will he still be smiling as big as he was last weekend?

subset: commoncrawl


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Dream is what thrives us for any efforts we make in our life. We all have some or the other dream in our minds and we run chasing it. We also had our dream and God has blessed us a time where now we can see it as a reality. We are extremely happy to announce the launch of our dream project – "CareerSarthi".
A newsletter is a regularly distributed publication that is generally about one main topic of interest to its subscribers.


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The Dumbest Bank In America Foreclosed On The Wrong House [FBHW]
An Ohio bank made a huge error last week when they foreclosed on the wrong person's home. The bank sent repo men to the house to remove the belongings and to change the locks. The bank claims that the repo men got confused with the GPS system they were using and ended up at the wrong address.
The woman is now trying to get the bank to pay $18,000 to cover the cost of the stolen goods. The bank is not being that cooperative and says that they want receipts for the items taken and will not pay the retail price of the merchandise that was taken. Because that seems fair. They steal all you stuff and then won't pay you back for it.
See what Free Beer and Hot Wings have to say about this epic blunder below.
Just because they're an institution of some sort... they broke into her home and stole her stuff. I don't care what their intentions were. - Hot Wings


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The Transfiguration of Christ is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on August 6.
Jesus had gone with his disciples Peter, James, and John to Mount Tabor. Christ's appearance was changed while they watched into a glorious radiant figure. There appeared Elijah and Moses, speaking with Jesus. The disciples were amazed and terribly afraid.
This event shows forth the divinity of Christ, so that the disciples would understand after his Ascension that He was truly the radiant splendor of the Father, and that his Passion was voluntary (Mark 9:2-9). It also shows the possibility of our own theosis.
This event was the subject of some debates between Gregory Palamas and Barlaam of Calabria. Barlaam believed that the light shining from Jesus was created light, while Gregory maintained the disciples were given grace to perceive the uncreated light of God. This supported Gregory's larger argument that although we cannot know God in His essence, we can know Him in his energies, as He reveals Himself.
Accounts of the Transfiguration are found in the Bible: Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-9, and Luke 9:28-36.
In Greece the harvest season traditionally began on the Transfiguration. Grapes, in particular, were not eaten before August 6. In some parishes, the first grapes would be brought to church for a blessing and distribted to parishioners.


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1997 was the year that changed my life. It was the year that I held my first baby in my arms. Having worked long hours in a busy job for years, suddenly being at home full time with my little boy was all I wanted to do. It's also the year I fell back in love with reading.
Having a child that slept a lot gave me lots of quiet hours to catch up on my favourite authors and find some new ones. I remember buying Cathy Kelly's debut novel, Woman to Woman, and it blew me away. She wrote like nobody I've ever read before – with wit, heart and superb story-telling, and I was immediately a fan. Twelve best-selling books later, Cathy is still one of my favourite authors, so imagine my excitement when I had the opportunity to interview her!
Cathy Kelly was born in Belfast but has lived in Dublin most of her life. She's currently living in County Wicklow with her husband, John, her twin boys, Dylan and Murray and her three Jack Russell Dogs (who she refers to as her 'puplets of loveliness') Scamp, Dinky Star and Licky. On meeting Cathy, I immediately felt that same warm fuzziness that we read in her books. She's bubbly, warm and welcoming and I couldn't wait to get chatting to her.
I wanted to know a little about Cathy's early life – whether writing was something she always wanted to do or something she discovered later on. "Oh I can't ever remember a time that I didn't want to write," she said. "I was already reading books when I was three! My brother was two years older so I was probably copying him. My grandmother thought it was hilarious that I could read when I was barely out of nappies so when I'd go to visit her in the west of Ireland, she made me read the Western People to anyone who'd listen. That was my party trick! But I just loved books and the fantasy world they allowed me to live in. I'd make up my own little stories in my head but to me they were real. Does that make me sound a bit unhinged?"
"I loved writing essays in school too. I didn't like the really formal or difficult ones we used to have to do in secondary but loved when we could use our imaginations and write more freely. Oh and poetry – I wrote bad poetry when I was a teenager. But I suppose every teenager does that!"
So it seems that Cathy always knew that writing would eventually be her job. "Gosh, no," she said! "I honestly never thought of doing it as a job. It sounds weird to say it, but I never made that connection. Maybe it's because I didn't think you could actually do something you love as a career.
'When I was in school, I really didn't know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I briefly toyed with the idea of doing art or physiotherapy and when my brother went on to do science; I thought maybe I'd do that. On my application form for college courses, I eventually put law, journalism and science. I didn't get enough points to do law but was offered science and realised I just didn't want to do that. I was actually thinking of going back to repeat my exams so that I might get offered law (can you imagine me – the mad lawyer!) when I got a call to go and do an interview for journalism. So I suppose that was the start of my writing career.
'I did that for two years and got a certificate out of it – I never went on to do a degree – and then got a job with the Sunday World as a news reporter. I enjoyed the job but it was hard. In the late 80′s and early 90′s there were a lot of drugs on the scene and a lot of poverty. I was always interested in the stories about women and children so I was always given the domestic abuse, child abuse and prostitution stories to do. I'm quite a soft, empathetic person and related to those stories and people well."
I'd heard that Cathy also did a stint as an agony aunt for the newspaper. Surely this was a perfect job to give her ideas for a novel? "Honestly, being an agony aunt was like getting a PHD in human behaviour. There was so much pain in the stories I heard during that time – people just wanted somebody to listen and, being a people person, I was ideal for the job. I never used any of those stories but it did teach me so much about human beings and helped me to build characters."
I was curious to know at what point those characters found their way from Cathy's head to the page. What made her eventually begin writing a novel?
"When I was younger, I tried my hand at writing a book but I just couldn't do it," said Cathy. "It just seemed like far too big a task. But when I was twenty-seven, I decided to give it a real go. I know it sounds disingenuous to say, but I honestly wasn't thinking of it from the point of view of getting published. It was just something I had to do. I bought myself an old computer and put it on my old round dining table. I sat there night after night and soon fell in love with creating this other world and it went from there. When I had half of it finished, I decided I'd chance sending it off to a publisher and to my surprise and delight, I got a publishing deal with Poolbeg."
Woman to Woman was initially published in Ireland and it immediately shot to number one on the best-seller list andremained there for eight weeks. It must have been an amazing feeling.
"When I got the news that I was number one, I just couldn't believe it," said Cathy. "But it was also happening at the same time that my father was going through dementia so those years were a mixed bag. It was a difficult time but there was also a lot of joy. It may sound funny to say but sometimes I even felt a little embarrassed about my success. I remember being in the canteen in work and somebody would ask how the book was doing and if it was still at number one and in a typically Irish, self-deprecating style, I'd mutter a 'fine' and put my head down, mortified! God forbid I'd be boasting! Honestly, I find it so difficult to take praise. I take criticism to heart in an instant and want to go away and sob but when somebody gives me a compliment, I just don't believe it!"
Having hit the best-seller slot for every book she's written, I wondered if it's something she now takes for granted. "Gosh no, never," she said. "As a writer, I'm always insecure. It's not exactly that I'm waiting for rejection but you just never know. People might get bored with my books and lose interest. I'm forever questioning myself and wondering if I've done the best that I could. Having people read my books and getting on that best seller list is a gift that I'll never take for granted."
So where does Cathy get all her ideas for stories from? "I love this information age," she enthused. "We have so much information available to us through newspapers, TV and the net. Even the smallest of things can spark an idea. Sometimes the idea may not be enough to become a whole book but that's why I loved writing the book of short stories so much. I could take all my little ideas that would never become a novel and make a short story from them."
As a writer myself, I'm always curious about the writing process. Everyone seems to have a different approach. I asked Cathy about the process. "Well firstly, I really don't plot it all out," she said. "I think if I was to sit down and plot a book meticulously, chapter by chapter, I'd never write it. There has to be room for movement. It's a bit like a suspension bridge that sways in the wind because the story changes as you go. I always have a fair idea where I'm going but allow myself to go with the twists and turns during the process. And as for research – I love it! Honestly, in an ideal world, I'd take two years to write a book and spend one whole glorious year doing research. I just get lost in it and have to drag myself away to actually write the book!"
I know it's a question that most authors find difficult to answer but I wondered about Cathy's favourite authors and books. "Oh gosh, it's really difficult to narrow down," she said. "When I'm writing my own books, I tend to stay away from women's fiction. I adore crime novels and I'm reading a fabulous one at the moment. It's called Ashes to Dust and it's by an Icelandic lady called Yrsa Sigurdardottir. It's a brilliantly plotted book and has me completely hooked. Laurie Graham is another of my favourite authors, but honestly there are just so many."
Cathy has a reputation for being generous with her time and more than willing to help aspiring writers. So what's the best piece of advice she can give to somebody starting out on their writing journey? "You have to write what's in you," she said, without hesitation. "You can't sit there and look at what's successful and try to write to fit in with that. Publishers get so many manuscripts from people trying to be like somebody else and not just being themselves. It's so important to find your own voice.
'And read, read, read! It's amazing the amount of people who come to me and say they want to write and in the same breath they say: 'I don't read, you know!' I find that startling. If you send a manuscript to a publisher and it's the most fabulous story but your grammar and spellings are all over the place, that's going to stop them appreciating your story. If you don't read and try to apply some of the basic principles to your work, then you're not doing yourself any favours." Cathy gets a fit of giggles at this point. "Am I coming across as all school marmish? But seriously, what's the point of not giving yourself the best chance?"
Cathy's twins, Dylan and Murray, will soon be eight years old and Cathy seems to juggle her life as a mother very well with her writing. "It's the most enormous privilege to be a writer and it has to be one of the most perfect jobs for a mother who wants a career," she said. "I get the boys up in the morning and drive them to school. I go straight home to write so I'm always there if there's a problem and I need to go and pick one of them up. Yes, it's like any other job in that you have to get your bum on the seat and work when they're at school but really there's great flexibility. I just love the whole motherhood thing. You never know how you're going to take to it before it happens but I just adore being a mum. I mess up all the time – it sure isn't The Waltons at our house – but we muddle through and are thankfully very happy."
Cathy is an Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland and has a real passion for the charity. Her enthusiasm and compassion shine through when she speaks about her experiences:
"I've been out to Rwanda and Mozambique and it's really overwhelming. But I can come back to a normal life afterwards. I'm always really humbled by the amazing workers who dedicate their lives to it. I just take malaria tablets, get a few jabs and head off for a few days whereas they're out there all the time really making a difference.
'Nothing can compare to the poverty they have in Africa. It's really overwhelming. When you go there and see how little they have and how little hope, it's heartbreaking. I've met mothers with HIV and they're there with their children and they know they're going to die. It's the most shocking thing you'll ever see. I've always had an interest in the Second World War and the holocaust and even read a lot about it as a child. But I wasn't prepared for the Genocide Museum in Rwanda. It's built on the skeletons of a quarter of a million people. They even have a children's room, which is the most awful thing I've ever seen in my life. There was a picture there of a little boy called David. He was best friends with his mum, his favourite food was ice-cream and he wanted to be a doctor when he grew up. His last words were 'Mum, where can we hide'. I just cried the whole way around. People over there are trying to get their lives back on track and we desperately need to help. It's our duty – I really believe that."
It's clear why Cathy is so loved here in Ireland and around the world. Not only is she a brilliant writer, but a wonderful and warm human being. So her fans must have been singing for joy when she decided to check out all the hype and join Twitter (@cathykellybooks).
"Oh I love it," she enthused. "Although I really have to discipline myself. I have to keep the ipad switched off during the day or I'd be tapping into Twitter the whole time. I've built up so many lovely followers already and I love hearing what they have to say. The direct contact is fantastic. I love all the mad, funny stuff too. Steve Martin is a genius and I love his tweets. I love all the news sites too – it's amazing that we can hear all the news instantly.
'I think what makes Twitter work so well is the feeling it gives us that the world is actually very small and people are wonderfully the same no matter where they live. I love that. I'm hugely into the idea that we're all the same. It's what I love about writing novels too: that someone in India or Australia or Greece or Brazil can empathise with my characters because we all share the same hopes and dreams."
On 6th May last, The Alan Titchmarsh Show on ITV in conjunction with Harper Collins launched a competition to find a new writing talent. As if Cathy isn't busy enough, she's going to head the three person judging team. "I'm really excited about it," she said. "There are so many marvellous writers out there who are just waiting for the chance to be published. This competition will give somebody the wonderful opportunity to have a novel published in 2012. I can't wait." You can read more about The People's Novelist Competition here.
Sadly, it was almost time to say goodbye but I had one last question for Cathy. I wondered if she plans to continue writing books. "Forever!" she grinned. "Honestly, it's in my heart and my soul. If I won the lotto millions tomorrow, I'd be delighted and look at who I could dish it out to. Then I'd put my head back down in the computer and write the next book."
And without a shadow of a doubt, we'll continue to read them!


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Cropped photo from the EXPO '76 Facebool page.
The Peadpod Project, a charitable organization founded to provide resources for parents coping with the serious illness of a child, is holding its First Annual Like That's So 80s Costume Party Contest tomorrow (May 21st) at Joe's Bar on Weed Street in Chicago. The $60 admission includes two hours of food and an open bar, plus renditions of those irresistible 1980s hits provided by a live band. Cash prizes will awarded to best male and female costumes. The event kicks off at 5:30 PM.
* * * *
Having already established a Chicago home base at Simon's Tavern, EXPO '76 continues to colonize the surrounding area. Or, as vocalist-guitarist Dag Juhlin dubbed it in a recent Facebook post, "Suburbanizing!" The eclectic covers band, comprised of veteran musicians, has had regular gigs at FitzGerald's in Berwyn and Mac's On Slade in Palatine. This Friday, May 23rd, EXPO '76, along with the Total Pro Horns, will venture into Mount Prospect for a show at The Blues Bar.
Juhlin promises he and his mates will be rocking (and joking around) until 1:00 AM, which might leave some time for people to catch Theatre Nebula's production of Monty Python's Spamalot at 8:00 PM at Cutting Hall in nearby Palatine. For my review of Spamalot, scroll down to the May 12th, 2014 post. For a look back at an EXPO '76 show at Macs On Slade, find July 17th, 2013 the BHT archives.


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The Vatican's Northern Light
Cardinal Marc Ouellet Named Prefect of Congregation for Bishops
QUEBEC CITY — A Canadian cardinal has been put in charge of the office that helps the Pope choose bishops in Latin-rite dioceses around the world.
The June 30 selection of Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the archbishop of Quebec, as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, marks the first time the congregation will be headed by a North American. He succeeds 76-year-old Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.
Cardinal Ouellet, 66, has also been appointed president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, of which he has been a member for a number of years.
As archbishop of Quebec, Cardinal Ouellet was primate of Canada. He has pulled no punches on issues such as same-sex "marriage," euthanasia and abortion. He has defended Pope Benedict XVI against allegations of his involvement in cover-ups of sexual abuse by clergy. He has also opposed the Quebec government's recent imposition of a relativistic religious studies curriculum in public and private schools. Recently, he drew condemnations from feminists and senior Canadian politicians for opposing abortion in all cases.
Critics now say his uncompromising position will be bad for the Church, while others say it is just what is needed in someone picking tomorrow's leaders.
"He really doesn't care what anyone says about him," said Montreal Catholic journalist Alan Hustak, who has spent his career covering secular and religious news in Quebec and Alberta. "He hasn't turned the Church around in Quebec, but he has got people talking about and reassessing the role of the Church and the faith."
Most of Quebec's clergy "just don't want to rock the boat," Hustak said. "They are afraid the few Catholics who are still contributing to the collection plate will quit. The Quebec hierarchy sees Cardinal Ouellet as a one-man band. But they said that about John Paul II as well, didn't they?"
Cardinal Ouellet was born in northern Quebec in 1944. He went from teacher's college to seminary and after just three years as a parish priest began a 30-year career teaching theology and running seminaries in South America, Quebec and Alberta, and finally Rome itself, where he held the chair of dogmatic theology of the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family at the Lateran Pontifical University.
In 2001 he was ordained a bishop and appointed secretary to the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. He also served on the Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews.
In 2002, Pope John Paul II named him archbishop of Quebec and the following year a cardinal. He serves on the Vatican congregations overseeing liturgy, clergy and Catholic education and is also a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture.
Proud of Eucharistic Congress
At a press conference in Quebec City after his appointments were announced, Cardinal Ouellet was asked if Pope Benedict XVI had chosen him because he could rely on him to "pick bishops to the right."
"The Pope has known me for years," the cardinal responded. "He has great trust in me. He knows I will support him. I have supported him in difficult times."
Another reporter asked if he was worried that he would be remembered for the furor over his recent remarks on abortion. He responded that he hoped he would be remembered for the International Eucharistic Congress that the Quebec Church hosted in 2008. "The historians will have to sort it out," he joked.
Criticism of the appointment came predictably from within and without the Church in Quebec. Francoise David, head of the feminist organization Quebec Solidaire, worried about who would replace him and other retiring bishops, given that Cardinal Ouellet would be recommending the choices.
"I am very concerned that the bishops who are appointed to the Quebec people will be very rigid, very close to the ideas of Rome, while for years we have had in Quebec bishops more conciliatory and closer to modern ideas," David said.
Looking beyond Quebec, Alexa Conradi, the president of the Federation of Quebec Women, worried about the kind of bishops Cardinal Ouellet would likely get appointed in places like Latin America and Africa, where they would oppose access to abortion.
What's more, she said, "the cardinal is assuming a position where he could have an influence over the nomination of the next pope. It seems clear we are not entering a progressive era in the history of the Catholic Church."
Hustak relates how a Montreal bishop told him that Cardinal Ouellet was "not collegial. He does not consult us before he says something."
Coming Vacancies
But Douglas Farrow, a professor of religious studies at Montreal's McGill University, says Cardinal Ouellet is "a very good choice; he is very well qualified; he speaks several languages, has experience teaching in Europe and South America; he is courageous in declaring Church teachings."
Even the cardinal's experience of isolation from many of his fellow bishops in Quebec will be useful experience for him, says Farrow, since it should show him that the bishops he appoints will need to be strong and independent-minded in the face of resistance and criticism from inside and outside the Church.
The naysayers within the Quebec Church "don't cause me to lose sleep at night," Farrow said. "They say he isn't collegial, but if he consulted the other bishops, they would just tell him to shut up."
The real objection to Cardinal Ouellet isn't that he is independent, says Farrow: "It's much more fundamental. His critics are people who are either unfamiliar with authentic Church teaching, disagree with it or are afraid to teach it."
"You find the same phenomenon in Europe and the U.S. — so-called 'cultural Catholics' who see the Church as a part of the culture with the function of supporting and strengthening it, and not being an independent critic of it," said Farrow.
As for the criticism that Cardinal Ouellet lacks compassion, Farrow said, "This is an old argument that you cannot be compassionate and yet hold to Church teachings. The Church has always taught there is no contradiction."
Farrow also expressed the hope that Cardinal Ouellet's experience with the Quebec Church would enable him to make good selections to fill the many bishoprics in "la Belle Province" coming vacant in the next decade: "I expect the Quebec episcopate to look very different in 10 years."
"It is a difficult time for the Church everywhere, and we will need high-quality bishops," says Farrow. "It's good knowing the man in charge of selecting them is someone who knows what it takes to be a good bishop."
Steve Weatherbe writes from Victoria, British Columbia.


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Time for a confession: I suffer from jealousy.
Not too long ago, I sent an email to a friend. In this message, I told him that I felt a lot like Kevin Costner's character in Field of Dreams where at the end of the movie, after having done all that was asked of him, he just got frustrated and wanted to know what was in it for him. He was tired of the ghosts living in his corn, getting to act out their fondest dreams and what they most longed for, finding a redemption of sorts for shattered dreams brought about by the choices they made in their lives, while he – Ray Kinsella/Kevin Costner – had taken the most roundabout and fundamentally bizarre journey of his life, at the risk of losing everything, to heed the nudge in his spirit of what he felt he HAD to do with his life.
I sent my friend this email at the time when he was off at a leadership conference, engaging with other individuals who serve in various leadership positions in their respective churches, and he was able to revel in learning how to grow, serve, do and be better at what he feels he has to do with his life – what his calling is. In the message I told him that I was frustrated (to be fair and honest, in my own mind, was inferring jealousy, which may not have been evident in the message I sent him). That I had (metaphorically speaking, of course) plowed down my cornfield, built a baseball field, and had spent all this time just watching others play in and on my field of dreams, and I wanted to know…what was in it for me. That I had done all that was asked of me, that I had allowed myself to be shaped by this calling, and to let myself grow organically into who I am becoming. That I had watched as others, time and again, who were just like me, had been called forward, and like the fat kid in elementary school, I felt like I was always passed over. When was it going to be my turn at bat? When do I get to join in the game, and play – do – what I felt it was/is my life's calling, ambition, dream and hope?
In the midst of this Sonny-rant moment, I also had to stop and own up to another feeling in my heart: a feeling of injustice, something that runs a little deeper than something like a three-year-old pouting "it's not fair," but also does seem a little – well, childish, depending on one's point of view.
For a while now, I've been debating the whole "what do I want to do/be when I grow up" thing. As fulfilling as staying at home with Kai has been, I don't think I could do this for the rest of my life. Given the massive emotional turbulence of the last year, I needed a sabbatical, an (ironically named in this instance) Year of Jubilee, where I got to stop and let the emotions and changes of this past year catch up with me to where I can be the best dad/husband that I can be.
My friend, like many others in my life, will tell me both to my face and to my email address, that it is all but BLINDINGLY obvious that there is a definitive calling on my life to work in ministry. That my heart, my ability to be real with people, and my journey has all been for this purpose. "Great," says I. "So – when exactly is that going to happen?"
One of the more annoying examples of my frustration comes in the fact that for many other people – their career/calling is somewhat much more simple in comparison: they know what they want to do, and there is a clear path to it. For me, while I appreciate the support of the people who have and continue to extol this whole "Dude, God has something great in store for you" mindset – I would really, really, really appreciate it if just once, someone could or would tell me WHAT the thing is that I am supposed to do, and point me on the right path. Help me make that first step. Point out to me that which I am apparently too close to to be able to see objectively.
I once told this friend of mine that I felt like one of the biggest differences between us was in terms of our "pedigrees." He – along with many others I could mention – took the more accepted path, the "right" path: go to seminary after you graduate with your Bachelor's degree.
His pedigree (his degrees and formal training) shows that he is qualified and eligible to be in this dog show; they show that he has the right to be here. Me? Comparatively, I'm a mutt: I have a mixed background (read: checkered), and my pedigree is questionable at best, disqualifiable at worst. People can see where his pedigree comes from; they can say "What a beautiful [fill in the blank with dog breed]." People just look at me, remark I'm cute, can tell I'm a good dog, but because no one can readily and easily see where my roots trace back to – which means, in the eyes of some, I'm a good dog, but simply not good enough.
There will always be those who prefer full-breed dogs, and there will be those who like mutts. I've always been a mutt lover – even before I knew that I was one. Those of us whose lineage is disputed. Those of us with muddy paws, matted fur, and who aren't groomed to perfection. Mark Heard said it best when he called us the orphans of God.
It's one of the reasons that I relate to both characters in the parable of the prodigal son. It would be way too easy (and way too clichéd) for me to simply say that I have played the part of the prodigal: I cashed in my heritage (turned my back on all things spiritual), went out and engaged in (being kind here) "questionable activities," and then turned back to my Father, who took me back with open arms.
Of course, without all the scars, I wouldn't be who I am. My story wouldn't be MY story. I wouldn't be the ME that I am today. I recently expressed (briefly) some of my frustrations with a friend of mine who I recently reconnected with after 20 years (yes, it turns out going to my high school reunion WAS good for something). She reminded me that I am exactly where I am supposed to be, doing what I am exactly supposed to be doing. I've had many people tell me that they connect with me because of my honesty – I guess, in many ways I act as a minister or as a Christian they've never encountered before. I try to be real, I try to be me, and I try to simply be genuine and loving in my interactions.
I know in my heart of hearts that had I taken another path in my life, the one seen as far more traditional and accepted (as referred to above: "right"), I could have a completely different outlook on life, and my interactions with people might be radically different from what they are. I wouldn't be the me who I am. For better or for worse, call it what you will, but my time in the wilderness, my feeding the pigs, was good for me. God takes that period and honors it, honors the redemptive story found in it, honors the journey, and celebrates it with me. Kills the fatted calf over it. Calls for a celebration of unparalleled happiness over it. Lets me see where my life has taken me, and the opportunities to truly and genuinely be with other people in their own journey as a friend, a shoulder, as someone who can empathize with them. Lets me look at the scars I have and not see or feel the pain brought by them, but instead see where I have been healed.
It just hurts that some others don't take that same perspective.
It also hurts that I sometimes play the role of the other brother in the story. But instead of having been the dutiful son who stayed in the traditional role placed before me, I watch as others are given a celebration, an opportunity, while I feel I have worked and worked and worked – and in spite of the blood, sweat and tears I've poured out, I see people who (in my opinion) get breaks they don't really deserve. They get the (metaphorical) parties and chances to play in a field of dreams that I feel I deserve. And I get jealous.
It's then that God gently – but firmly – nudges my heart. He asks me why I'm upset that people are out playing in my corn. He asks, "Is that why you did all of this? For you?" He asks why I can't celebrate in the excitement of seeing other people get the fatted calf themselves; why don't I see that this isn't the end of the story, but simply yet another new beginning?
I know that one day, eventually, at the climax scene in this movie metaphor, my Dad will take the facemask off (or more appropriately, the blinders off me), and I will see the Why of why my life has been the way it has been. I'll have that moment in the cornfield where He steps in to play catch with me. That I will have that time when it is explained – not in so many words but simply in my spirit – why I had to plow down the cornfield. Why – perhaps – in my mind I see myself as having to be a farmer, when instead I'm supposed to be something else. (I mean, for all I know, I'm supposed to be a writer…) Why I had to do all that has been asked of me. Why I had to take joy in celebrating the victories of others (seeing them take on jobs, roles, responsibilities that I know that I can do).
Why I had to watch as others do what I feel and know in my heart I could be doing, but simply not (apparently) at this time, in this season.
God will play catch with me. Giving. Receiving.
And just like He did at the creation of all things, He'll look at this new creation, this new beginning, this start, and say it's good.


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AMD Catalyst Software Suite Version 12.8 Release Notes
This article provides information on the latest posting of AMD's software suite, AMD Catalyst™12.8. This particular software suite updates the AMD display driver and the AMD Catalyst™ Control Center and the AMD Vision Engine Control Center. This unified driver has been updated and is designed to provide enhanced performance and reliability.
Package Content
The AMD Catalyst software suite 12.8 contains the following:
AMD display driver version 8.982
HydraVision™ for Windows Vista® and Windows® 7
Southbridge/IXP Driver
AMD Catalyst Control Center version 8.982/AMD Vision Engine Control Center version 8.982.
Caution !
The AMD Catalyst Control Center/AMD Vision Engine Control Center requires that the Microsoft® .NET Framework SP1 be installed for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Without .NET SP1 installed, the AMD Catalyst Control Center/AMD Vision Engine Control Center will not launch properly and the user will see an error message.
When installing the AMD Catalyst driver for Windows operating system, the user must be logged on as Administrator or have Administrator rights to complete the installation of the AMD Catalyst driver.
The Catalyst driver requires Windows 7 Service Pack 1 to be installed.
These release notes provide information on the AMD display driver only. For information on the ATI Multimedia Center™, HydraVision, HydraVision Basic Edition, Remote Wonder™, or the Southbridge/IXP driver, please refer to their respective release notes found at: http://support.amd.com/.
AMD Eyefinity technology is designed to give gamers access to high display resolutions. As pixel count grows, the graphics "horsepower" required to drive the displays at a reasonable frame rate can increase dramatically. Depending on the game and system configuration, users may notice texture corruption and reduced frame rates when running games in multi-monitor Eyefinity modes.
Windows Driver Model (WDM) drivers are no longer bundled in the AMD Catalyst software suite. The WDM drivers install bundle can be downloaded independently through the AMD website.
Compatible Operating Systems
The latest version of the AMD Catalyst software suite is designed to support the following Microsoft Windows platforms:
Windows 8 32-bit version
Windows 8 64-bit version
Windows 7 32-bit version
Windows 7 64-bit version
Windows Vista 32-bit version
Windows Vista 64-bit version
Windows XP Professional
Windows XP Home Edition
Windows XP Media Center Edition
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
Feature Highlights of the AMD Catalyst 12.8: Windows 8 support
AMD's first logo certified driver for Windows 8 production featuring support for the DirectX® 11.1 and the new WDDM 1.2 driver model:
Target-Independent Rasterization (TIR): TIR is a new rendering path that enables superior anti-aliasing in Direct3D driver applications.
Native Stereo 3D Support: Windows 8 natively supports stereoscopic 3D gaming and videos via compatible applications.
Unified Video API: Video playback has been integrated into the DirectX 11 API, enabling simultaneous video and gaming content. Transcoding performance may also be improved for supporting applications.
Optimized screen rotation for rotation aware devices.
Improved sleep/resume performance.
Optimized GPU power consumption.
Support for AMD features
AMD Eyefinity
AMD Dual Graphics / AMD CrossFire™ Technology
AMD Overdrive
AMD Catalyst Control Center / Vision Engine Control Center
This section provides information on resolved known issues in this release of the AMD Catalyst 12.8 software suite.
Resolved Issues for the Windows 7 Operating System
Over/underscan settings are correctly restored on system reboot
SolidWorks: Graphical corruption is no longer experienced
Crysis Warhead: No longer crashes when launched in DirectX 10 mode
System no longer hangs when resuming from sleep mode
Audio is no longer disabled if the connected HDTV Is switched off/on
Enabling dual graphics mode with a HD 7000 series product no longer displays green video playback
Call of Duty- Black Ops : No longer hangs when loading a mission in DirectX 9 mode with Crossfire enabled
Shogun 2: Flickering text is no longer experienced
Star Wars – The Old Republic: In game cinematics no longer experience flicker when using the arrow keys
Dirt Showdown: 8-Ball track no longer hangs with AMD Crossfire functionality enabled
Max Payne 3: A black screen is no longer observed when launching game in DirectX 11 mode with AMD Crossfire functionality enabled
Max Payne 3: Applying in game settings no longer causes the game to crash
Resolved Issues for the Windows 8 Operating System (These issues were found in the Catalyst driver for the Windows 8 Preview)
Video playback using the Metro video player no longer shows green corruption
Deus Ex - Human Revolution: Graphics corruption is no longer experienced during in game cinematics with AMD Crossfire functionality enabled
Battlefield 3: game no longer crashes when AMD Crossfire functionality is enabled
Need for Speed – The Run: game no longer crashes to the desktop
Blocky video corruption no longer seen when using VLC
System no longer hangs when using PowerDVD
Green video corruption is no longer seen when using various video players
Resolved Issues for the Windows XP Operating System
QQ Dancer: A black screen is no longer randomly experienced
The following section provides a summary of open issues that may be experienced with the AMD Catalyst 12.8 software suite.
Known issues under the Windows 7 operating system
Max Payne 3: Lights may flicker when run in Direct X 11 mode in a triple AMD Crossfire configuration
F1 2011: Vehicle textures may flicker when graphics profile is set to low
Enemy Territory Quake Wars: Poor performance may be experienced with AMD Crossfire technology enabled
Rage: Poor performance may be experienced with AMD Crossfire technology enabled
Known issues under the Windows 8 operating system
Blocky corruption may be experienced when playing back Flash video content
De-interlacing settings may not be applied to interlaced content when using MPC-HC and PowerDVD
Civilization V: game may crash when run in DirectX 9 mode
Total War – Shogun 2: game may experience random crashes
Rage: game may experience random crashes
Known issues under the Windows XP operating system
Diablo 3/Starcraft 2/World of Warcraft: Performance may be affected when run in windowed mode
AMD Catalyst 12.8 Drivers Now Available
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Welcoming all students who are interested in studying abroad!
The UWB Study Abroad team is now offering drop-in advising for all students to come by without an appointment! We encourage you to ask us your questions as brief or complex as they may be - we are here to help you get launched into a studying abroad!
Drop-In Winter Quarter Advising Schedule:


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2 new 7x10 watercolor paintings, Sold
lines and colors :: a blog about drawing, painting, illustration, comics, concept art and other visual arts
Welcome to Linda Cheek's Plein-Air Art Studio. I started bulding my art studio in 1990 and it has been and still is a work in progress, to quote Grandma Cheek "by the time you've made it, you've had it." I hope this blog will be an inspiration to artists and others as well.
|Oil 10 x 10
|6 x 8 Gouache Study


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Michigan Tech Scientists Verify Nanodiamond Discovery
Diamonds, usually forged in overwhelming heat and pressure miles deep in the Earth's mantle, have now been made at atmospheric pressure and 100 degrees Celcius—the boiling point of water.
No one will be wearing these diamonds on their ring finger, however. They are nanodiamonds, just two or three nanometers across, invisible to all but electron microscopes. But their properties could be as alluring as crown jewels. Unlike the other form of carbon, graphite, diamond is a semiconductor, similar to silicon, which is the dominant material in the electronics industry, and gallium arsenide, which is used in lasers and other optical devices.
The discovery, by project leader Mohan Sankaran, associate professor of chemical engineering at Case Western Reserve University, was aided by physics professor Yoke Khin Yap and graduate student Boyi Hao of Michigan Technological University. Using ultraviolet Raman spectroscopy in Yap's lab, they confirmed that Sankaran's group had indeed made nanodiamonds.
The nanodiamonds are formed directly from a gas and require no surface to grow on. Their investigation is published Oct. 19 in the scientific journal Nature Communications. The discovery holds promise for many uses in technology and industry, such as coating plastics with ultrafine diamond powder and making flexible electronics, implants, drug-delivery devices and more products that take advantage of diamond's exceptional properties.
Case Western senior news and information specialist Kevin Mayhood contributed to this story. To learn more, see his Case Western Reserve press release.
Michigan Technological University is a public research university, home to more than 7,000 students from 54 countries. Founded in 1885, the University offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, and social sciences. Our campus in Michigan's Upper Peninsula overlooks the Keweenaw Waterway and is just a few miles from Lake Superior.


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Anton Eriksson
Anton Eriksson, baritone
Over the last three seasons, he has been working at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm where he has been playing roles such as Dr Falke (Die Fledermaus), Schaunard (La Bohème), Silvano (Un Ballo in Maschera), Marullo (Rigoletto), Dancaire (Carmen), Angelotti (Tosca), A Mandarin (Turandot), José Castro (La Fanciulla del West) etc. In summer 2012, he made a successful debut at Sweden's Opera på Skäret festival as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor.
Anton Eriksson made his operatic debut in autumn 2006 as Count Ceprano and Monterone in the acclaimed Folkoperan production of Rigoletto. After that, he was engaged to sing the title role in Handel's Saul at Vadstena Academy in Summer 2007. Later that same year, he sang Escamillo in the LinneaTeater production of Carmen in Växjo, Sweden. In Autumn 2008, Anton Eriksson played Marcello in the successful Wermland Opera production of La Bohème under the direction of Peter Konwitschny.


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Weezer's Rivers Cuomo Injured in Bus Accident, Sweater Possibly Destroyed
No! A nice, friendly rock star named Rivers Cuomo who leads up awesome rock band Weezer got into a bus accident earlier this morning in Upstate New York.
Rivers and his family were in a bus going from one gig to another when their bus slid on some ice, CNN reports:
Rivers Cuomo, 40, complained of rib pain and was transferred, along with one other passenger, to St. Mary's Hospital in Amsterdam, New York. Cuomo's wife, daughter, and a fifth passenger on the bus were uninjured. The bus was traveling from Toronto, Ontario, to Boston, Massachusetts, for a show Monday night at the Agganis Arena at Boston University.
Also, "police said they do not suspect drugs or alcohol were a factor in the accident," by which they obviously mean "he did not have our hash pipe." Also, this is very strange! Because, um, hello. Either way, (1) Drivers, it's winter! Be careful! (2) Get better, Rivers. The world needs more of you and less of this. And (3) Weezer is a great band and even though they might not make records you like so much anymore—lots of people still do—if we were without them, rock and roll would be far worse off. Here's to them, and what's my favorite, and arguably, their best video:
I know some of you will be like OH COME ON, "BUDDY HOLLY," so fine, shut up, here:
Weezer - buddy holly
Uploaded by harrison73. - Explore more music videos.


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The Betty White freight train keep on rolling, people. After stealing "The Proposal" and becoming a Facebook hero and hosting SNL to record ratings and doing likewise with TV Land's "Hot In Cleveland," it seems White is on a career trajectory that right now resembles a kite string. Within the next year, she may become President, Pope, and Queen of England simultaneously. Don't think it's out of the question. After all, Hollywood is already considering making her God… in a remake of "Oh God." From Deadline's Mike Fleming:
Warner Bros and producer Jerry Weintraub have tried long and hard to mount a remake of the 1977 George Burns comedy Oh, God! I'm told Weintraub just pitched the studio a new version of the film, with Hollywood's hottest octogenarian--Betty White,--as the title character. Paul Rudd was pitched for the role of the hapless mortal played by John Denver in the Carl Reiner-directed original…
This incarnation is nascent--the studio doesn't have a script it loves, and I'm not sure White and Rudd have been contacted.
Well, just because they haven't been contacted doesn't mean I can't work myself up into a lather over seeing White deified on screen. I grew up in the 80's with the original "Oh God" movies, which starred George Burns. I don't really remember the movies. I just remember thinking George Burns was funny because he was very old and looked like a monkey. I had no other knowledge of his history as a performer, as a professional comedian, as part of a comedy team with his late wife. I knew none of that. I was just, "Hey, look! An old person! That's funny!"
And that, frankly, is what White is to a lot of the Facebook generation. They never saw "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Many of them probably didn't know who Betty White even was until her SNL campaign began. And now, she has officially occupied that George Burns role of go-to funny old person. She's most certainly earned it, that's for sure.
No one would ever describe those "Oh God" movies as masterpieces. But that never stopped people from finding Burns adorable, and White has also earned that same kind of career immunity. Let's face it: "Hot In Cleveland" isn't all that hot, and that SNL episode had an awful lot of dead weight in it (like any SNL episode). But White is still great, and will always be regardless of how good of a God she turns out to be.


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Bloody Mary Bar
July 27, 2019 @ 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Build your own Bloody Marys with us!
Our Bloody Mary Bar is open every Saturday & Sunday from 12-4pm.
Featuring our craft Vodka (flavor infused options available) and locally-sourced ingredients like bloody mary mixes, pickles, and more.


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Although the following letter was not in the yizkor book, I felt it was important enough to be included with the translation of the book.
Rabbi Oscar M. Lifshutz was a U.S. Army colonel and his chaplaincy included much direct involvement with freed concentration camp inmates after W.W. II. His mother was born in Maytchet and this letter was written to his parents when Oscar was stationed in Vienna, Austria 1946 and had a chance meeting with a member of his mother's family, Sholom Romanofsky, survivor from Maytchet. It was at this time he wrote the following letter to his mother.
Coincidentally when my husband Shael Siegel was stationed in Salzburg, Austria 1954, he met Rabbi Lifshutz and worked closely with him helping Jews who were living in a nearby D.P. camp. at that time my husband had no idea he would marry someone with Maytchet roots and have still another bond with Rabbi Lifshutz!
Sholom Romanofsky married his wife Yehudis in1948 in the D.P. camp in Austria where this letter was written. Sholom passed away in 1968—as of the year 2000 there are 55 direct descendants from the one Maytchet Jewish life that was fortunately saved during the Holocaust.
Myrna Siegel
This is the letter as written:
June 9, 1946
My Dear Father and Mother,
I am writing this letter to tell you the story that Sholom Romanofsky gave me when I saw him in Salzburg and Linz.
On July 15, 1942 (Rosh Chodesh Av) the people of Maytchet ran away into the woods. Terror had already broken loose. On the 16th of July the Romanofsky family was murdered. Malke and Judel Chorobrowicki and the children were also murdered. That included Bashka as well. This continued from the 16th until the 18th of July. The Romanofsky family on the 16th and the Chorobrowicki on the 18th. Nechamya alone was left alive.
Things were in a turmoil until December 18, 1942. The people still hid in the woods. Then the tragic blow fell again. Workers were needed in the village of Dvoritz. Israel Chaim believed the Germans. Romanofsky pleaded with him not to go. But he decided to go and he and the family were wiped out. (Nechamya too.) They were buried two kilometers outside of Dvoritz on the road to the cloister. Two thousand Jews were murdered there, and buried in one large grave.
Judel and the family were buried near the Bahnhof of Maytchet in a large grave where 3,500 other Jews were placed.
Of the 500 people that ran away, only 15 were left. The first were murdered by the quislings and the later ones by the Germans.
The only ones he knows to alive today are:
Shmuel Schiff family
Yoseph Yudel and his wife
Rosa, her husband and child
Meyer's two childrenHe also located-------of the family Moshe, Channa and Mottel. They claim to have an aunt in America and are looking for her.
This is all he told me. Sholom was wounded a couple of times and joined the partisans. He caught several of the murderers and finished them off. Today he is waiting in Bindermichel (D.P. Camp) near Linz to go to America. He has a relative¾ Epstein in New York¾ who is helping him out. He is also the representative of Agudah of Linz.
That is the complete report he gave me. It reads like an unbelievable novel. That people could be so cruel is hard to imagine. But the stories are true. I saw a grave of 1,000 Jews. Houses with chains where they burned Jews. Only a couple of years ago they did all this.
What is gone is lost. The souls of these people will not be unavenged. Innocent blood must be paid for before a world forgets. I can reach Sholom at all times. Please write.
With love, your son,
Osher Michel
JewishGen, Inc. makes no representations regarding the accuracy of
the translation. The reader may wish to refer to the original material
for verification.
JewishGen is not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in the original work and cannot rewrite or edit the text to correct inaccuracies and/or omissions.
Our mission is to produce a translation of the original work and we cannot verify the accuracy of statements or alter facts cited.
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Updated 10 Nov 2012 by LA


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In honor of Star Wars: The Force Awakens' release, we're rerunning our series from 2012 when I watched the Star Wars movies for the first time. Read my intro/explanation here, and here are my reviews of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, and Attack of the Clones.
And this is how the series ends, not with a bang but a "NOOOOOOOOOO!" I can sense in the Force that the fandom probably, rightfully, takes a great deal of issue with Revenge of the Sith, but I think it may actually be the strongest of the prequel movies.
The rise of Darth Sidious was perhaps the best plot of the prequels, since it was cultivated well from the beginning. Anakin's development could have gone better, but I blame that primarily on Hayden Christiensen's lacking performance (particularly in this movie — he was never as scary or as lording as he should have been in the end). There was a lot of mythology though that a different kind of film could have delved into more deeply — more about the Siths, the lightsabers, etc. And though I think that digitalization can be a great boon to movies, I also think it can be used far too much and relied upon too heavily as it was here (and I for one was not a fan of digital Yoda, who was quite the hyperactive gremlin).
Anakin and Padmé's relationship, which always had some creepiness to it, turned her into a mostly useless character in Revenge of Sith as she hid around trying to pretend she wasn't pregnant. This is Anakin's movie, yes, but for all of my praise of Leia's personality in the original trilogy and appreciation of Padmé's resourcefulness in the first two prequels (less so in Episode II), the ball was dropped here.
Still, Revenge of the Sith created some real emotions as the Jedis were killed off and the Reign of the Sith Lord began. It also tied in everyone's stories reasonably well with the original trilogy, particularly Luke and Leia's origins and why Darth Vader didn't continue becoming more powerful as everyone kept saying he would (he only betrayed his Master in the end to save Luke and the last good piece of his soul, not because he craved power — at least, not until Luke showed up).
As much as I wanted for Star Wars in its completeness to be the story of Anakin after seeing The Empire Strikes Back, it's really the story of Luke. Despite getting three movies devoted to him, Anakin is never really fleshed out in the way Luke is. Luke also has the benefit of a very strong supporting cast, and even when the focus is not on him, we're still interested in what's going on (whereas when the story strayed from Anakin in the prequels, so did my interest).
I don't think that the prequels are a complete and utter disgrace (well, Phantom Menace maybe), but I can't see myself ever finding much reason to watch them again. The originals, however, I was nearly ready to pop back in after I finished Revenge of the Sith. I'm ultimately glad that I didn't watch the movies in chronological order, I don't care what George Lucas says. They ruin the surprises of the later movies (and even though I already knew those reveals, the way they played out was still interesting), and makes for an unfortunate transition from glossy digitization to old school effects, which is a weird jump.
There was another order considered before I began called Machete, which essentially suggests the watch order should be IV, V, II, III, VI (leaving out Episode I entirely). Ignoring the brush off of Episode I (which I think you might as well watch just as part of the canon), I actually support this a great deal. It really heightens the stakes at the end of Empire, where, because now that you "know" Darth Vader so much better, his death is that much more full of pathos.
So that's all, folks. It's been a riveting journey through space and time, and I'm sad I don't have another installment to look forward to tomorrow. I guess it's time for me to take a stance on this Disney Issue…
Episode III Roundup:
Favorite Character(s): Obi-Wan, Darth Sidious for outsmarting everyone
Least Favorite Character(s): Count Dooku for being confusingly useless (sorry, Christopher Lee)
Light Saber Color: Blue. No, green. Purple? Whatever the force chooses for me, but I guess I'm on the light side. I see the appeal of the dark, though …
What worked best: Obi-Wan's characterization developed nicely, and I particularly liked his interactions with Anakin at the start of this Episode.
What didn't work: Samuel L. Jackson really shouldn't have been allowed to introduce another color into the saber array. It was already weird enough to have blue and green while the Sith lords only have red. Now there's a rainbow, and no reason behind it? Weaksauce. Also, Darth Vader appearing as the Bicycle Girl from The Walking Dead at the end before Dark Sidious scoops him up was ridiculous. Oh and "wiping" the droids memories? Convenient …
Best Quotes: "So this is how liberty dies … with thunderous applause."


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Today was the big day. Ben, Ryder, and I were at the hospital at 6:30am while Zak was still sleeping at home with Dave. His surgery was at 7:30am and went great. He also woke up from the anesthesia very well so his recovery time was pretty quick. We are now home and he is napping (which I will be doing shortly also). The surgeon said everything went great and he should recovery very well. He has no real restrictions, just whatever seems to hurt he should not do. He is allowed to take a quick 5-minute bath daily for the first week and then can go back to normal baths. Here are a few pictures from today.
Ryder in his gown and slippers
Ryder with his blanket
Ryder at home and still out of it


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I (finally) made it out of Houston, had passed Huntsville and continued on my way up I-45 North when it suddenly dawned on me...that when we are born, are given the ability to breathe, it is a gift. But as we die, we must ask our bodies to fight to keep what we've been given at birth, and as we all know, sometimes it is not God's will that it be that way and it is just simply"our time to go." I then thought of my birthday, May 5, 1982. On that day, I am supposed to celebrate my birth, my life...hence, "birthday" and thought of the day of the attack, August 10, 1990, the day I survived; a "re-birth" in a sense. As I kept driving, I found myself tearing up thinking of the miracles that happened, one right after another, so that I would survive. From the drizzling rain to keep my wound moist that day, to the fireants clotting the blood in my wound, to the children playing at just the right time in the field to find me before my body gave up, and then to survive and gain back my voice...it all continues to amaze me. I am just beyond grateful that it wasn't my time to go, and that I am able to share my story with so many wonderful people, from so many different places.
I pulled into the conference site, The Sheraton in Downtown Dallas, and as I stepped out of the car, it felt like a hairdryer was blowing right in my face. The temperature? 115 degrees, according to my car. I live on the coast, and it isn't even that bad...and I had four more days of this exhausting heat before returning home. I had to brace myself. Luckily, the AC was blowing hard inside the hotel and I was able to get all checked-in and settled in my room comfortably. Well, until dinner when we walked 8 blocks to get to the Iron Cactus in the sweltering heat. I by this time, was ready for an iced tea. Our group from Galveston County all went to dinner together, about 17 of us total, and we were all looking forward to some drinks and mexican food; until our waiter appeared, sweating profusely, might I add...and had a "hypo-glycemic attack" - needless to say, I never got that tea, and ordered a margarita instead...about an hour later since he was running behind because of his episode which some were sarcastically calling a "hydroponic" attack. haha - we will never know what was REALLY going on with that guy...I'm still hoping none of his sweat dripped into my guacamole.
Moving right along, the first day of the conference was Monday. Elizabeth Smart was the plenary speaker, and read a speech. I was hoping to get a picture with her, but she didn't stay to mingle, and went to a press conference instead..pretty disappointing. Detective Cromie & I sat in on a workshop Ed Smart, Elizabeth's dad hosted with a lady whose son has been missing for over twenty years, very sad but what incredible strength that woman has to never give up hope her son will one day come home! We then met up with Agent Rennison in the afternoon and then went over our presentation the following morning as a refresher since we were presenting Tuesday afternoon. Both presentations, one 3 hour on Tuesday, one 3 hour on Wednesday, went really well! Wednesday's presentation was bittersweet as it was the 21st anniversary of my attack; yet I was standing infront of hundreds of people, not only telling my story with my two heroes, but also educating everyone in the audience (nurses, therapists, social workers, members of law enforcement, DA's, victim advocates, etc.) on how important it is to let victims have a voice! During both presentations, there were wonderful questions asked at the end, and the entire conference was one that I'll certainly never forget - it was very insightful and powerful!
This day, 21 years ago, was not just another day being alive...it was the day I survived, and I just can't thank you all enough for continuing to be so supportive! Let's all continue to the fight in conquering crime, one voice at a time!


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Okay, so this is a bit to early to be mentioning but I'm very excited about it. I will, of course, repost this in at a more useful date.
May 2nd, 2007
Society of Illustrators, NY
I must confess to being supremely self-serving here. Charles had his laptop out at the Austin World Fantasy and showed a few of us some amazing artwork from a lecture he gave at the Conference for the Fantastic. He covered obscure and well-known fantasists from the 19th Century up through today. I really wanted to hear him give the full lecture so, it was either wait for the stars to align at some convention or convince the Society's lecture series chairman to invite him up. It didn't take much convincing.


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20% off all wall art! Today only! Offer ends tonight at midnight EST.
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Decorate your bathroom and dry yourself off with our luxuriously soft bath towels and hand towels. Our towels are made from brushed microfiber with a 100% cotton back for extra absorption. The top of the towel has the image printed on it, and the back is white cotton. Available in three different sizes: hand towel, bath towel, and bath sheet.
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Julia Irving
September 13th, 2020
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September 13th, 2020
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Julia Irving
September 13th, 2020
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September 12th, 2020
I DID NOT GET THE DISH TOWEL! i STILL LIKE TO HAVE ONE!
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September 9th, 2020
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September 4th, 2020
Imaginative since her childhood, Suzanne Udell Levinger creates her artwork using oil and watercolor paints and colored pencils. As a teenager she attended The Art Students League of New York City and then attended Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York where she graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Art and Design and Social Work. She continued studying and as well as teaching art in a variety of settings and locations in Israel where she lived for six years. Upon her return to the United States she joined her family in south Florida where she has continued to create her largely non-objective and color filled images. She has a confident eye for design and movement that translates into organic and sensual images. In...
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Becky Weinhandl appreciates that she grew up in a time when girls' and women's sports were gaining popularity.
That allowed Weinhandl to do something that was rare even then – and impossible now – playing five sports at Greenville (Ill.) College near St. Louis.
"In the early 1970s our seasons weren't as long, and they went one right after the other and didn't overlap," Weinhandl, who grew up in St. Louis before attending Greenville, said. "I don't know if I was that good at any of them. I was probably best at volleyball and softball."
Weinhandl laid the foundation for her career while at Greenville. She came to Marengo and has coached and taught for 33 years, working the last 13 as athletic director. She has been understated there as well, while reaching more high school athletes than she probably ever will realize.
Weinhandl is retiring at the end of the school year. Marengo paid tribute to her last Tuesday at its final regular-season home boys basketball game.
Before the game, she was honored with a crystal trophy with the inscription: "You went the extra distance for the children." She also had a surprise when five former Greenville teammates attended the game.
"I didn't know they were coming," Weinhandl said. "I saw one of them in the stands and thought she looked familiar, but then I thought, 'Oh, right.' "
Rich Weinhandl was the culprit there, setting it up with Becky's old teammates. After the game, at Weinhandl's house, they called two of their college coaches up to chat.
"It was like we never left college, the things we were talking about," Becky said. "You could never [play five sports] now, even at a small school. The softball and tennis overlapped a little, but our coach let me and my partner have a separate practice. I don't think I missed any matches."
Weinhandl played volleyball, field hockey, basketball, softball and tennis at Greenville, where she graduated in 1974.
She has coached several sports at Marengo, with her most successful teams in girls basketball.
From 1979-86, her teams were 124-46 and won four Class A regional championships. Those four teams lost to the eventual state champion teams in the sectional each time.
Marengo won its first team state title in school history last spring when the Indians softball team brought home the Class 3A state championship trophy.
Marengo principal Scott Shepard said he has been thrilled in his four years at the school to work with Weinhandl.
"She is a great example for the coaches and students for what it is to commit to something and dedicate her life to serving kids," Shepard said. "As AD, you look for someone to organize things and she truly goes above and beyond. She's a cheerleader for the kids and a mentor for the coaches, a real positive energy person. A lot of people don't understand how much she loves Marengo and what she does for the kids."
Weinhandl said one thing she will miss in retirement is the interaction with the athletes, although she will remain a big Indians fan and still attend a lot of games.
"I love athletics, I love the arena and watching kids play and compete," she said. "I love being at Marengo, a place that loves athletics. They took care of me and did a lot for me. I'm so blessed to have the privilege and honor to teach and coach here at Marengo. Marengo's done more for me than I've ever done for Marengo."
• Joe Stevenson is the senior sports writer for the Northwest Herald. He can be reached by email at email@example.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @nwh_JoePrepZone.


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This. Will. Get Me Attention.
Spring must be here, because the Cubs are already embarrassing themselves!
For all of the sCrUBS fans chugging the Theo Epstein Kool-Aid, talking about how the "Cubs Culture" is "changing" and how "new leadership" is taking them in a "new, respectable direction", just remember: Jeff Samardzija isn't drinking it.
Hate me 'cuz I hate the Cubs, just don't hate me 'cuz I'm right.
– – –
It's time for THE FILIBUSTER to settle back in the Sunday slot at RSBS! The Interns are excited. Mr. Krause is excited. And I AM EXCITED TOO! No matter what the query, send it to firstname.lastname@example.com and we'll let you know what we think.


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The Da Vinci Code, Fiction & The Gospels
Dan Brown's novel proves that FICTION can be highly engrossing, and obtain a wide readership--especially if the fiction begins with a fictional promise of unveiling truth (*smile*), and especially if the market is ripe for it. The same might also be said of the Gospels and why they became "bestsellers."
British actor Ian McKellen who appeared in The Da Vinci Code, put it this way: "I've often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer in the front saying this is fiction. I mean, walking on water, it takes an act of faith."
Quite a few people — including many fans of Dan Brown's book — will probably be displeased with such sentiments, but it's difficult to argue that significant amounts of the Bible aren't fiction. Obviously some portions are historical to one degree or another, but any more historical than the true parts of Dan Brown's novel? [Austin Cline at http://atheism.about.com]
The Gospels were like a first-century "Da Vinci Code" novel, featuring wild pesher and midrashic interpretations of "riddles and clues" that God allegedly added to the ancient Hebrew books of the Bible, written centuries before Jesus was born, yet which "foretold" his arrival and even incidents of his deeds, death and resurrection. The earliest Gospel, "Mark," also speaks mysteriously about Jesus being secretive about his true identity. Sounds similar to the unconvincing arguments found in Dan Brown's mystery novel! Especially since the alleged "prophecies about Jesus" which were lifted (sometimes a mere half verse at a time) from the O.T. were based on the most tenuous of alleged connections, or even possibly based on making some stories of Jesus up just to suit the verses! [Google Jeff Lowder's online article, "The Fabulous Prophecies of the Messiah;" and also google "Fiddler Zvi" and his online "Messiah and Tanakh" page. Also note that the earliest Gospel, of which 90% was reproduced in the two later ones, Matthew and Luke, is also the gospel featuring the idea that Jesus's messiahship was originally kept a secret, which is a bit different from the last written Gospel were Jesus's messiahship is out in the open from the start beginning with Nathaniel in chapter one and with Jesus speaking solely about himself every chance he got in public, "I am" this, "I am that," with not a word spent talking in parables to the public.
Another point raised by the Da Vinci Code is the haughtiness and self-seeking hierarchies of the Catholic church and her theologians, a point that even Christians throughout history have raised in ways that might make Dan Brown smile in recognition:
Take the words of the Catholic satirist, Erasmus, ""As for the theologians, perhaps it would be better to pass them over in silence, not stirring up a hornets' nest and not laying a finger on the stinkweed, since this race of men is incredibly arrogant and touchy. For they might rise up en masse and march in ranks against me with six hundred conclusions and force me to recant. And if I should refuse, they would immediately shout 'heretic.' For this is the thunderbolt they always keep ready at a moments notice to terrify anyone to whom they are not very favorably inclined" (Erasmus 57).
His commentary continues regarding the theologians' ridiculous penchant for "endless and magisterial definitions, conclusions," and "corollaries" (Erasmus 58).
"They [theologians] are so blessed by their self love as to be fully persuaded that they themselves dwell in the third heaven, looking down from high above on all other mortals as if they were earth-creeping vermin almost worthy of their pity..."
"Moreover, they explicate sacred mysteries just as arbitrarily as they please, explaining by what method the world was established and arranged, by what channels original sin is transmitted to Adam's posterity, by what means, by what proportion, in how short a period of time Christ was fully formed in the virgin's womb... There are others which they think worthy of great and 'illuminated' [in the faith by the Holy Spirit] theologians, as they say. If they ever encounter these, they really perk up. Whether there is any instant in the generation of the divine persons? Whether there is more than one filial relationship in Christ? Whether the following proposition is possible: God the Father hates the Son. Whether God could have taken on the nature of a woman, of the devil, of an ass, of a cucumber, of a piece of flint? And then how the cucumber would have preached, performed miracles, and been nailed to the cross?..."
Dan Brown, in comparison with Erasmus, simply wondered whether Jesus could have had children and still "saved the world."
Erasmus continued, "And then these most subtle subtleties are rendered even more subtle by the various 'ways' or types of scholastic theology, so that you could work your way out of a labyrinth sooner than out of the intricacies of the Realists, Nominalists, Thomists, Albertists, Occamists, Scotists--and I still haven't mentioned all the sects, but only the main ones."
Erasmus does not spare the "religious" or the "monks" his berating wit either. Erasmus branded those who considered themselves "religious" or "monk" to be anything but that which such monikers signify. He, in fact, couldn't imagine "how anything could be more wretched than these men," who were in reality "far removed from religion" and "encountered more frequently everywhere you go" (Erasmus 61).
Popes and priests are offered the same treatment. Popes are painted as the antithesis of the Christ example of poverty, labor, teaching, and sacrifice. It is the popes who have an abundance of luxuries, honor, and pomp. Popes have all of the advantages this life can afford. "How many advantages would these men be deprived of if they were ever assailed by wisdom" (Erasmus 66)? The priests, on the other hand, and when not fighting "for their right to [being given the] tithes [of parishoners], with sword, spears, and stone, with every imaginable sort of armed force," are busy keeping a "sharp lookout to harvest their profits" (Erasmus 67-68).
SOURCE: Erasmus, Desiderius. In Praise of Folly. A Reformation Reader: Primary Texts with Introductions. Ed. Denis Janz. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1999.
So if Dan Brown satirized excesses within the Catholic Church, perhaps he was too light in doing so, especially when compared with what Erasmus (a reform-minded Catholic humanist) and Martin Luther (a former Catholic who became a Protestant Reformer) both wrote about it!


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Samsung Sidekick 4G
Info Photos News Forum 27 Reviews
Phone Scoop Review
Apr 18, 2011 by Eric M. Zeman
The Sidekick 4G, made by Samsung, looks to revitalize one of the brands that gave T-Mobile its street cred back in the early 2000s. Samsung has a lot of high heels to fill with this device. Does it? read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Sidekick 4g initial experience
Bought 2 SK4's yesterday, upgrading one Moto Cliq and adding me (hated to let my SERO plan go but life goes on).
Initial setup was pretty easy except for a bit of difficulty finding where PoP email setup is done. The phone seems pretty well built, is quick (consistently stays on TMo's 4g here in Manassas).
Fun to use, like previous SK's but Android is a better OS choice I must admit.
Nice assortment of applications available - I am going from a MotoQ running WinMo 6.1 to Froyo so am probably easy to impress.
Phone sound and signal quality are great and it synced with my Ford Sync system perfectly and all features work except the Sync texting but most phones don't support that anyway.
Everything else seems to work as it should so I am giving a 4 star rating based on the total package and hoping that the speed issue mentioned below as a Con is related to today's conditions or my current location.
Internet speed was pretty slow and inconsistent. Running Ookla's speed test on 4g I got a range of .39 to .9 gbs upload and about .56 download speeds. Ping was high at over 500 ms consistently. This test was run while the phone was indicating a 4g connection on TMobile's system.
As I said, some things, like the PoP setup are not easy to find and necessitated a call to customer service to locate.
Keyboard lights seem to go dim in about 2 seconds - probably another buried setting that I need to find.
Volume key is on the bottom, right where I grab the phone when picking it up so I have to be careful not to turn it down accidentally.
I like it ... But..
So for those who thinks that just because this phone is an android that it has to be a monster, your wrong. This is an entry level smartphone. By that I mean, you will not have the specs, bells and whistles as an iphone or the late and great samsung galaxy s3 or htc one.
There are several glitches with this phone. The display light dims on its own even when the automatic brightness is turned off. It lags and freezes on a daily basis, depending what you are doing in the phone.
Although it carries 1Ghz ... it is pretty slow. The cam is left to be desired. Although it takes amazing pics for being a 3mp, and the auto focus is great, it has no flash so indoors or when its dark out, pics will look terrible. Not enough phone memory. Not all apps can be stored in your sd card so you can't download many apps or you will use up all the memory.
Battery last long... not all day. I.e. take it off the charger at 6am and won't hve to recharge until 6pm
after a heavy use. Definitely ok in my book.
Downloads are fast. The keyboard is excellent. The best ever on any phone. The call quality and sound is amazing!! Best ever seen on any phone. Charges pretty fast. Can connect to the internet fast. I am writing this review from my sidekick, so its good.
Overall, its a great phone if your willing to overlook the cons ... for some the cons are 1 too many. But I am satisfied with this phone for now. However its not a keeper, I will eventually be upgrading to the htc one s
AD reviews continues below...
Samsung's version of the Sidekick
This is Samsung's unique version of the sidekick. In my opinion they did an amazing job at keeping the traditional Sidekick overall look and feel. It's much sturdier then any of the older versions. Has the best keyboard of all of them as well. I recently switched from the Samsung Behold II, and before that I had a Sidekick 08. I love both the android and the sidekick firmwares, so when I heard that they were coming out with a sidekick that was als an android it caught my attention big. Now after using this phone for a while and going throught everything here are some pros and cons about the phone.
-The keyboard is phenomenal. (best by far of any phone)
-Phone is fast and I've never had a problem with connection (constantly on 4G).
-Web is the fastest I've ever used on a phone.
-Despite what others say about the mouse sensor out works perfectly fine for me.
-The phone hadn't lagged on me once.
-All the apps run smoth and fast.
-The quick reply in the notification bar is amazing and makes the phone easy to multi-task without closing what you're doing.
-The battery life is amazing compared to most Androids or Sidekicks.
-Group texting is fun and allows you to connect with all your friends fast and easy.
-The Mobile Hotspot works great. (I play my PS3 usingthe phone signal)
-The camara is kind of a disappointment considering it's a Samsung and an Android. (With Samsung having such a good rep for building high quality devices)
Overall the only thing I could find wrong with it was the camara only being 3mp other then that the phone is amazing and I recomend it to anyone looking for a fun phone experience. 5/5
Not Good, Not Awful
Pros: great keyboard, great harware placement of buttons, dedicated camera shutter button, battery life
Cons: major checkerboard effect on websites (must wait until site has loaded b4 checker board goes away), laggy, freezes up, and loads apps slowly
The sidekick of yesteryear is gone and has been replaced with this Samsung branded hardware. A very lite touchwiz-like user interface is seen in camera, video and app launcher...(this could be a good thing and a bad thing). However, the android platform is not fully served by the unnecessary "jump" key due to the redundancy of hardware vs widget. Needless to say, the handset is a decent "entry level" device worthy of those who do not desire fluid browsing and good quality app integration. The camera is just barely usable (due to lack of flash and lackluster photo editing options)
Samsung's Vision of the Sidekick is Outstanding.
I purchased the Sidekick 4G two days ago and must admit that the overall performance is quite good! Ever since the G1, I've been holding off on buying an Android phone due to the fact that I wanted to allow time for the young OS to mature.
I was the previous owner of an HTC Tilt with a custom 6.5 WinMo rom. It was actually not that bad, even though it would only connect to T-Mobile's Edge network. It called it quits after a year five months ago and had to resort to using my wife's HTC Wing....ugh.
Being a fan of qwerty touch phones, when I read the news of the Sidekick 4G it was like the perfect time to upgrade.
Not being a fan of T-Mobile's junkware, I quickly flashed the phone to a custom Android rom and it is quite a speed demon now. I haven't had an opportunity to run a internet speed test, but the 4G network plays youtube flawlessly using Opera Mini 6.1.
PROS: Regardless of other people's experiences with the Sidekick 4G, the phone has never once froze or crashed on me. Applications load quickly and are very responsive.
The full keyboard layout is awesome and the keys are spaced far enough apart to provide a great texting/chatting experience.
The front facing camera is a plus and fring runs perfectly on wifi and 4G. The rear camera lacks a flash but is not that big of a deal.
Video playback using Rockplayer is smooth and audio quality is clear.
CONS: For some reason, the shortcuts on my homescreen keep disappearing after disconnecting from my PC using mass storage mode. I'll look into that further.
Also, at times, when sliding the screen to use the keys, I sometimes touch the screen and open up an app. It does get frustrating at times.
Another weird thing...when creating a folder called Clips on the sd card using mass storage and copying a clip, the whole folder disappears after disconnecting.
Overall, despite the weird stuff, it is a well made phone and I feel was worth the wait. It's no Sensation, but still offers good quality for the price.


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Ohio Northern University's Phi Beta Delta honorary society for international scholars presents "Crises in the Middle East: A Panel Discussion" in the Dicke Forum on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
The panel is comprised of four professors from the ONU Department of History, Political Science and Justice who will share their insights on the Middle East crises and the ongoing civil war in Syria. After a brief presentation from the panel, a question and answer session will follow.
Michael Loughlin, professor of history, will serve as the moderator of the event. The panelists are Andrew Ludanyi, professor emeritus of political science; Dr. David R. Smith, associate professor of geography; Kofi Nsia-Pepra, assistant professor of history; and Umar Sulayman, director of the English for a Specific Purpose and the Prison Management Certificate programs.
Loughlin has taught for more than 40 years at all levels in various schools and colleges in Indiana, Texas and Ohio. He has spent most of the last 25 years at ONU, where he has taught classes in Modern European History, The French Revolution, Modern France, The Varieties of Fascism, World War I, Hitler and Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, American Foreign Policy, the History of the American Environmental Movement, and Western Political Thought from Plato to Rawls and Nozick. His juried publications generally derive from his longstanding interest in fascism in general and French fascism in particular.
Ludanyi is a professor emeritus who taught at ONU for 40 years before retiring in 2008. He is a specialist in international relations and comparative politics, and his research focuses on the fate of minorities in East Central Europe. Ludanyi taught courses on the history of the Ottoman Empire and the Contemporary Middle East for more than three decades at ONU.
Nsia-Pepra's teaching experiences include teaching at the University of Michigan (Dearborn), Wayne State University, Central Michigan University and Hanyang University in South Korea. Nsia-Pepra is a former officer (flight lieutenant) of the Ghana Air Force (1990-99) and a trained administrator and paratrooper. He served with the United Nations' Assisted Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR). He also served with the Economic Community of West African Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) as the Ghana Air Force detachment commander during the Sierra Leonean War. His research and teaching interests are international relations, conflict analysis and resolution, critical international security, human rights, United Nations peacekeeping, and governance.
Smith is trained as a geographer and has extensive experience in international affairs in Russia, Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East. He has a range of management and public policy experience, including issues involving the environment, water, mapping and GIS, Iran, the Caucuses and Central Asia, China, the Koreas, climate, and regional conflict. Smith has been invited to present his research at several conferences in Iran, sponsored by the Institute for Political and International Studies of the Foreign Ministry of Iran. He also serves as a consultant for the United Nations-affiliated International Research Foundation for Development, assisting on social and economic policy in a number of different countries. Smith earned both his master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Chicago.
Sulayman received his Bachelor of Arts with honors and master's degree in English and linguistics from the University of Baghdad. In 2006, he received a Fulbright Scholarship to study in the United States, and, as a result, he received a second master's degree in Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Fearing for his life, he was granted asylum in 2008 after appearing in a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article titled "Marked for Death." Born and raised in Iraq, Sulayman has been invited to talk about his experiences in the Middle East, the Sunni-Shiite split and the post-Saddam Iraq.
Phi Beta Delta is the honor society for international scholars. Founded in 1987, the nominees for membership in the Gamma Upsilon chapter of Phi Beta Delta include outstanding faculty, staff, students and alumni. The society hopes to integrate those who possess a deep commitment to international affairs, education and research. One of the functions of the Gamma Upsilon chapter has been to create a regular forum in which international affairs can be discussed using University sources and by seeking prominent individuals with varied experience in international affairs recruited from beyond the University community.